Tuesday, July 19, 2005

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that it is working with leaders of the Colorado Muslim community to set up a meeting with Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) over his recent remarks suggesting support for bombing Mecca, Islam's holiest site.

Tancredo made the remarks during an interview on the Pat Campbell Show in Florida last Thursday discussing what should be done in response to an attack on this country by "extremist fundamentalist Muslims." Tancredo said one possible response would be to "take out their holy sites." When Campbell asked if the congressman was "talking about bombing Mecca," Tancredo replied, "Yeah."

To listen to an excerpt of the interview, go to:http://www.cairfl.org/audio/Tancredo_comments_071405.mp3

On Sunday, Tancredo released a statement saying he was just trying to figure out how the United States could deter future attacks. The statement said: "Among the many things we might do to prevent such an attack on America would be to lay out there as a possibility the destruction of these sites."

"I do not advocate this," said Tancredo in his statement. "Much more thought would need to be given to the potential ramifications of such a horrific response."

CAIR said local and national Republican leaders should repudiate the congressman's remarks and Tancredo himself should apologize immediately to the people of Colorado and to the American Muslim community.

The Washington-based council asked Muslims and other people of conscience to contact the Republican Party to ask for an apology and repudiation of the offensive statements. (E-Mail: info@gop.com, Copy to: cair@cair-net.org )

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.